Elkhorn Slough Foundation Makes Progress on Sand Hill Farm

MOSS LANDING — Bright morning sun filters through low hanging fog, illuminating the sparkling slough and the white feathers on a regal egret in the distance. Commuters creep by on Highway 1, between Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing Harbor. Mark Silberstein, director of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, says the last time he stood at this same viewpoint he could see a whale breach.

Silberstein stands on sand, not at the beach, but at Sand Hill Farm, where Elkhorn Slough Foundation is restoring 107 acres of former farmland to its natural state. Fifteen of these acres will be leased by an organic farmer as soon as this spring.

“This is, really in the future, a gateway to some of the beautiful lands in the Elkhorn Slough watershed,” Silberstein motions over the valley, where bobcats, coyotes, and hawks find shelter.

His ultimate vision for this land is “to have this mix of healthy farms, healthy family, healthy food coming off this place.”

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)